


Run

by haekass



Category: Shinhwa (Band), Super Junior
Genre: M/M, Mafia AU, bonfire fest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2020-02-04 14:12:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18606151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haekass/pseuds/haekass
Summary: Donghae is offered the position of boss. Take it or die.





	Run

**Author's Note:**

> Some knowledge of first gen idols groups and their fan colors are needed to understand the naming/color scheme. For example, SJ is pearl sapphire blue, so that clan/group would be the Blue Dragons. HOT was white, Sechs Kies [Kies actually means pebble/gravel, but is supposed to be crystals eh whatever, they're quality vampire rocks you will not regret stanning them] is yellow, and Shinhwa is orange. I also... kinda threw out about half the prompt just because it wasn't working.
> 
> Warnings of mentions of violence/death (it's a mafia!au with the foulest mouth in suju combined with a group that swears, on average, about three times in two minutes, what are you expecting?)

Donghae’s eyes were frantic as he scanned the room he was in, nervously glancing at the dark figures standing in every doorway and next to windows. “Could you repeat that please?” he asked into the silence.

 

“You heard me the first time. Your flight leaves in three hours. Junghyuk or one of his boys will meet you at the airport. I expect rapid progress, Lee Donghae. You should be competent enough in less than six months to take over the clan. Junghyuk won’t keep anyone for longer than that and his patience runs thin with additions. He’s only doing this to clear the favor he owes me. Taemin, Jongin, make sure he gets there.”

 

“Yes boss,” the two mentioned men chorused as they started moving towards him.

 

“But… but I don’t have a pass to travel?” Donghae said, unconsciously taking a couple of steps back.

 

“You don’t need to concern yourself with that triviality. Your new life as a boss begins now, Lee Donghae. You can walk out or be carried out, your choice.”

 

Donghae closed his eyes briefly, thinking of his family. The thought of merely disappearing from their lives combined with the surge of adrenaline through his system had him straightening his back before he turned sharply to face the door. “I’ll walk,” he muttered, just loud enough to be heard. What the hell, he reasoned to himself, his life was pretty much going nowhere anyway and he might be able to slip away at the airport.

 

“Which way?” he asked in the hallway, certain that Jongin and Taemin were right behind him.

 

“Left,” a calm voice answered from his right.

 

Looking over his shoulder as he turned in the indicated direction, he raised an eyebrow. “Which one are you?”

 

“Jongin,” came the answer in the same calm tone. “Watch out for the table.”

 

Donghae whipped his head back around and was barely able to step around the long table set against a wall with various pieces of pottery on it. “Who the fuck would bother putting a table in the middle of a hall,” he grumbled to himself.

 

“Boss inherited the collection, said it was pointless to keep it locked up. That’s why the table is there,” a voice to his left said, and Donghae guessed that it was Taemin.

 

Rolling his eyes, he kept walking through the silent hallway until the ornate front door was opened for him.

 

“Garage is to the right,” Jongin directed. “Give me the keys Taeminnie. I don’t want to explain why our package never made it because of your reckless driving.”

 

“You’re such a pain in the ass,” Taemin grumbled, but Donghae could hear the jingling of keys as they were passed from person to person.

 

“So you keep telling me.”

 

Donghae couldn’t quite keep the surprise off his face at the sly tone.

 

“What’s the surprise for? Everyone knows that you’re into guys too,” Taemin told him as he opened the back door of the car. “Literally and figuratively.”

 

Donghae cleared his throat as he crawled inside. “I just wasn’t expecting to hear that at this precise moment,” he finally answered as Taemin slid in next to him and Jongin opened the driver’s side door. “I’m still trying to catch up to the fact that I was _kidnapped_ and suddenly told to take over a clan by a guy I apparently helped a few years ago but I can’t remember _or I’m going to die_ ,” he snapped before trying to clamp down on his temper.

 

Taemin snorted softly and waved a hand. “Details. We’re all going to die at some point, what does it matter when and how?”

 

“Can’t have sex if you’re dead,” Jongin replied calmly. “Start being a little more careful.”

 

Taemin’s brows furrowed as he thought about that for a second. “Okay yeah that’s a downside.”

 

Donghae really couldn’t help the amusement at the banter between the two. It at least got his mind off his current circumstances.

 

“You really don’t remember helping out the boss?” Taemin asked, his eyes widening and giving him a far more innocent aura than should be allowed.

 

“No,” Donghae replied, picking at a thread of his jeans.

 

“It was about three years ago, you held up the boss’s car before it drove into an ambush.”

 

Donghae frowned. He definitely didn’t recall stopping any cars by choice… “Wait are you talking about when that car hit me?”

 

“Yeah!” Taemin said, brightening up. “That accident held the boss up by an hour, which got security in place and prevented him from dying in an ambush.”

 

“Are you fucking _kidding me_ ,” Donghae exploded, making both Taemin and Jongin jump. “I almost fucking _died_ because of that accident and I’m still dealing with the aftereffects of it!” He rubbed his forehead, already feeling a headache brewing. “Oh my god, just take me home,” he said tiredly, staring out of the window.

 

“Sorry, boss said you’re getting to Junghyuk, and you’re getting to him,” Jongin replied.

 

Donghae leaned his head on the window and swallowed, trying not to cry. So much for slipping away unnoticed.

 

“Boss didn’t like that you were hurt so bad by an accident,” Taemin said quietly. “Once the doctors said you’d make it, he paid for all of your medical bills, including recovery, immediately.”

 

“…The hospital only told us that an anonymous benefactor had seen the story and paid for it,” Donghae finally replied, once he was sure his voice wouldn’t waver.

 

He took a few calming, deep breaths to combat the feeling of his emotions going out of control. The doctors told him that it was normal after a traumatic brain injury, but Donghae wasn’t very fond of it.

 

“So is Jungsu with you guys?” he asked. If his recovery had been arranged, then it was likely that he’d been sent to a therapist affiliated with the clan.

 

Taemin nodded. “He really does have a license, though. Boss wouldn’t send you to someone without one.”

 

Donghae whispered several curses under his breath. “Has he been planning this ever since?” he muttered bitterly.

 

“Well, you’re like the third one. The other two… let’s just say they didn’t work out so well.”

 

Donghae frowned for a moment. “So why am I being sent out of the region if the other two were here?”

 

“Our other allied clans are busy and the bosses don’t have time to train you by the time boss wants to retire,” Jongin answered shortly and with enough emphasis to indicate the subject was closed.

 

Donghae sighed. “Great. Fantastic. My excitement knows no bounds,” he sarcastically muttered. If the back door had handles, he would have almost been tempted to throw himself out of the car and take his chances that way. Another traumatic brain injury might just totally knock everything loose and Donghae wouldn’t have to be aware of anything. “Why the hell does everyone seem to think this is a good idea?”

 

“Because boss thinks so.”

 

“Aish,” Donghae blew out. “Maybe you do need a new boss, this one’s a little off track if he thinks that someone with a traumatic brain injury, a bad memory, and a short temper is a good idea for being the boss of a clan!”

 

“You done?” Taemin asked calmly.

 

“Not really,” Donghae growled, glaring at him. “I’ve tried my hardest to stay out of any clan business aside from what everyone has to and now I’ve got to take over a clan because someone almost killed me. _Fuck_. If it wouldn’t upset my mother so much by just disappearing, I would have said fuck everything and taken my chances back there.” He turned away, staring blankly out of the window and tried to not worry about the heavy silence in the car.

 

Incheon airport hadn’t changed much from before the Burning Wars, but the glint of solar panels on every exposed surface caught his attention. Once the finite resource of oil had run out, the world had switched over to mostly solar power, and each region bartered with other regions for goods that couldn’t be produced. Jongin parked the car in one of the reserved spots close to the terminal door, then opened the door for Taemin.

 

Donghae was tempted for a few seconds to just not get out of the car for spite, but he finally slid across the seat and stepped out of the car, pulling his light cardigan closed against the chill in the air. Spring had finally lifted the dreariness of winter, but it still got cold once the sun had gone down. “Fuck, we couldn’t have at least stopped off at my place to get a jacket?” he griped.

 

“You’re not going to need it; I hear it’s already pretty hot there,” Jongin replied.

 

The doors slid open as they walked in and Donghae blew out his breath, feeling the heated air washing over him.

 

Donghae was whisked through multiple security areas, and no amount of pleading eyes would make anyone ask if he was okay or there under duress. He was surprised when he was immediately shown onto a private plane. Jongin calmly sat down, patting the seat next to him. Taemin immediately moved to the indicated seat with a wide smile. Donghae picked a seat at random, sighing to himself as he buckled the seatbelt. He didn’t even have a book to keep him occupied for the long flight to Mexico City.

 

Leaning his head back, he stared blankly at the ceiling, emblazoned with the clan’s symbol. The curved brushstroke line in blue was supposed to resemble a dragon moving through water, and Donghae knew that it was highly symbolic of the ideals the clan was supposed to live up to. He personally thought that every clan in the world lived down to every expectation he ever had of them, but then the alternative was completely ineffectual and corrupt regional governments.

 

Faced with that option, the clans looked holy by comparison.

 

//

 

Donghae was startled out of sleep by the sudden jolt as the plane’s wheels skidded on the runway. Frantically looking around, he tried to calm his racing heart from the surge of adrenaline. “Are we there already?”

 

Taemin was already standing, shrugging his suit jacket back on. “No, we’re just recharging in Los Angeles.”

 

“So where the fuck are you going?”

 

“Already talking like a boss,” Jongin commented as he stood. “We’re going to pay. Stay here, please.”

 

Donghae rubbed his forehead as a headache tried to make itself known. Theoretically, he could try to sneak out of the plane and into Los Angeles – he spoke passable English and there were enough people of Korean descent he could blend in – but he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if anything happened to his family if he did sneak off. 

 

He stared at the city skyline, for a minute or so before getting up to try and find some water. Raised voices outside caught his attention, and he was going to just ignore it until he heard the demand to make sense in English. Rolling his eyes, he immediately walked to the door.

 

“Seriously? You two got sent and neither one of you speak English?” he asked testily as he stomped down the built-in stairs. “What are you trying to tell them?”

 

Jongin was silent for a second, his face expressing his disapproval of Donghae making an appearance. “We have payment for topping up the charge on the plane in barter strips.”

 

“Fine,” Donghae sighed. Turning his head to the assembled mix of clan security and maintenance workers, all with clan markers either tied around their heads or arms. “Our apologies for the confusion,” he started smoothly, grabbing the barter strips from Jongin’s hands and noticing the relaxing stances as he spoke English. “We’ve been flying at night and need recharge, payment…” Blinking, Donghae shook his head, trying to dredge up the proper grammar. “Have barter strips payment,” he finally said, knowing that it wasn’t entirely correct, but it got the meaning across.

 

The clan security members nodded their heads, and after a brief discussion Donghae evenly distributed the barter strips between the three clans that would provide power. He bowed shallowly before turning to get back on the plane.

 

“Don’t even bother saying it,” he said as he passed Jongin. “You both are lucky that I can speak English well enough to avoid getting your heads blown off.” As much as he stomped down the stairs, he stepped lightly on the way back up, not wanting to leave the ground crew with the impression that he was throwing a tantrum, even if he felt like it.

 

“The flash of barter strips should have been enough,” Taemin groused as he entered the plane behind Donghae.

 

“Obviously, it wasn’t,” Donghae returned. He paused for a moment, wanting to be spiteful enough to not bother asking if they would have enough of a charge to get back to Seoul, but his mother’s voice was nagging at him in the back of his mind to be nice. “Will you have enough of a charge to get back?”

 

Taemin looked at him, his eyes wide in surprise. “Uh… yeah, we’ll be flying with the sun all the way back.”

 

Donghae nodded and turned back to stare out the window. The recharge took a few minutes, and Donghae only breathed easier when they were back in the air.

 

He took a nap out of pure boredom for the remainder of the flight and woke up grumpy, disoriented, and with a small headache as they descended.

 

The hot blast of heat was almost a relief, and he winced at the dazzling sunlight that entered the plane as the door opened. He wished that he had a pair of sunglasses with him as his head throbbed. Avoiding the door for the moment, he grabbed some water and quickly downed it, guessing that he was both dehydrated and hungry.

 

“They’re waiting for you,” Taemin said as he stood in the door.

 

Rolling his eyes, Donghae stubbornly refused to move until he’d had enough water to sustain him. Pulling his cardigan off, he folded it over his arm and made his way down the stairs. His eyes adjusted quickly once in the full glare of the sun, and he took in the view.

 

The two cars parked would have probably been considered relics before the Burning Wars, but the wiped down solar tiles on the roof told him that they still worked, and he curiously glanced at the five men lounging on the hoods. They looked totally relaxed, but the way their hands casually rested near shoulder holsters or on the handle of their guns told him that they were alert for any trouble.

 

The one in the bright yellow shirt lounging against the windshield was the one Donghae kept his eye on as he made his way down the stairs. Glancing over to where Taemin and Jongin were standing, he looked at the guy that was nearly dwarfing them. Black pants, scuffed and dirty combat boots, and black shirt opened just enough to display the scorpion necklace around his neck. With one last distrustful look towards the guy in the yellow shirt, Donghae stepped over to them.

 

“This him?”

 

Donghae guessed that the deep, rough voice belonged to Junghyuk.

 

“Yes,” Taemin answered. “Lee Donghae.”

 

Donghae bowed as he had been taught by his mother. “Hello.”

 

He saw the look of surprise flicker across Junghyuk’s face before he quickly bowed back. “You two can go now,” he roughly said to Taemin and Jongin. “Our debt is repaid, there won’t be a next contact from your boss.”

 

Jongin’s mouth soured a bit, but both he and Taemin bowed shallowly to Junghyuk and then to Donghae before climbing back into the plane. Donghae closed his eyes as the door shut with a resounding _click_ and he pressed his lips together. He didn’t have much of a choice in the matter, but it looked like he was going to be a boss whether he liked it or not.

 

“How old are you kid? Sixteen?” Junghyuk asked, his voice softer and kinder than it had been.

 

“Twenty-four,” Donghae quietly answered, then looked up nervously. Junghyuk looked like he could set his hand on Donghae’s head and squish him flat. “How old are you?”

 

Junghyuk smiled, and Donghae relaxed the slightest bit. “Your hyung by seven years,” he said, ruffling Donghae’s hair. “You’re a cute one, how did you get mixed up in clan business?”

 

“Yah! Eric! Are you going to stand there all day or what?”

 

Donghae looked over. A guy that looked about his height in a black tank top had set his feet on the ground and folded his arms. “A drunk idiot almost killed me,” he answered.

 

“That sounds like a hell of a story. Come on, I’ll introduce you to my boys.”

 

Donghae dutifully followed, biting his lower lip in nervousness as they got closer to the cars.

 

“I thought you were gonna shove him back on the plane, hyung,” the guy in the yellow shirt laconically drawled.

 

“Hush you brat,” Junghyuk shot back mildly. “This is Lee Donghae.”

 

Donghae bowed. “Hello.”

 

Raised eyebrows greeted him.

 

“Okay you win points for being polite,” the guy in the yellow shirt said, his hand dropping from his gun.

 

“Quit being so bloodthirsty, Andy,” a soft voice chastised.

 

“Like you’ve got room to talk, hyung.”

 

“Anyway. Minwoo, Dongwan, Hyesung, Andy, Junjin,” Junghyuk introduced, pointing out each one in turn. “No matter how cute you are, call me Junghyuk and I’ll strangle you. Eric.”

 

Donghae nodded quickly.

 

Eric leaned against the hood of one of the cars and folded his arms. “So tell us about a drunk idiot and how it translates into us having to train you to be a boss.”

 

Donghae puffed out his cheeks briefly, hearing a groan from Junjin. “Dammit he’s too cute.”

 

“A drunk driver slammed into me while I was riding my bike to school and almost killed me. Apparently, and I haven’t known about this for over three years, the resulting traffic held up the clan’s boss long enough for his security to discover an ambush. Yesterday, I was told that either I’d take over the clan in six months or die.” He paused for a moment and shrugged. “I’d rather not upset my mother by disappearing forever, so I guess I’m going to be a clan boss. I didn’t think that me having a traumatic brain injury, a bad temper, and a short attention span is really a good idea to be a boss, but everyone else seems to think it’s a fantastic plan.”

 

There was only dead silence for a moment before the sound of a plane taking off broke it.

 

“I like you,” Andy said. “Hyung, I want chicken.”

 

“You going to go catch one?” Dongwan teased. “Because I know a place–“

 

“Keep it in your pants,” Hyesung chided. “Don’t scare the kid already. How old are you, Donghae?”

 

“Twenty-four.”

 

Hyesung’s eyebrows arched briefly over his sunglasses. “Seven years.”

 

Donghae tilted his head curiously. “Are all of you older than me?”

 

“Seven,” Dongwan and Minwoo chorused while nodding.

 

“Six,” Junjin replied while Andy just held up a hand with all five fingers extended.

 

Donghae blew out his breath. “That makes things _so_ much easier,” he muttered, relieved that he wouldn’t have to try and force himself to remember if anyone was younger than him.

 

“Used to being the maknae?” Dongwan teased.

 

Donghae nodded. “Plus I still occasionally have issues with my memory, so not having to think if anyone is younger helps.”

 

“Let’s roll out,” Eric said, stretching as he stood. “Syung, you’ve got the bigger car, Donghae rides with you. Wannie, you can get a fuck later, we’ve got shit to do.”

 

Everyone split easily, and Donghae slid into the backseat of a car, wincing a little at the searing heat coming off the leather. Dongwan slid in next to him while Junjin claimed the front passenger seat.

 

As Hyesung started the car, Donghae wondered idly if he was going to be stuck in the same clothes until he got back to Korea.

 

//

 

“I might just kill whoever walks off that plane just for the sheer annoyance they’ve caused,” Eric fumed, his expression stony.

 

Donghae stayed silent, tapping his fingers against his leg in nervousness. He knew that Eric didn’t lose his temper over much – at least when he didn’t have a hangover – but being told to meet a plane at an airstrip by the man that Donghae was supposed to replace was more than enough to sour Eric’s mood.

 

Donghae felt someone ruffle his hair, and he smiled a little at Hyesung.

 

“He’s not going to take it out on you,” Hyesung whispered to him, looping an arm around Donghae’s shoulders.

 

“I know, hyung,” he replied, snuggling into Hyesung’s warmth. “I’m just nervous because I know it’s almost time for me to go back.”

 

“You’ll be fine.”

 

“I hope so,” Donghae whispered, barely loud enough to hear over the sound of a plane coming in for landing.

 

Donghae looked up curiously as he felt Hyesung’s arm move in surprise.

 

“Eric,” Hyesung called out, his voice holding a note of warning.

 

“What?” Eric snapped.

 

“Look at the plane, dumbass,” Hyesung bit back.

 

Donghae tilted his head in curiosity, trying to work out what was different. It looked like every other plane he’d ever seen, aside from the thick black line running the entire length of the plane, broken only by a bright yellow slash across the middle.

 

Donghae saw Eric pause and set his hands on his hips. “Well that’s interesting. Whoever it is just got thirty seconds to explain before I start shooting.”

 

“Who is it?” Donghae asked.

 

“Don’t know, but they’re affiliated with the Yellow Crystals.”

 

Donghae’s eyes widened. The Yellow Crystals had a good chunk of the southeast section of Seoul and wasn’t too far away from Donghae’s area. “Now I’m interested to see what they want to say,” Donghae muttered to himself.

 

As the engines slowly wound down, Donghae looped a thumb through the belt loop of his jeans while his right hand rested on the butt of his gun. Everyone else was also alert, but only Eric looked tense. The door cracked open, allowing a slim man to descend the stairs.

 

“You’ve got thirty seconds to state your business with me before I start shooting,” Eric said as soon as the guy was within earshot.

 

“I’m not here for you,” the guy calmly replied. “I’m here for him,” he added, gesturing to Donghae.

 

Eric already had his gun out and pointed at the other guy’s forehead before Donghae had even processed the statement. “If you’re trying to not get your head blown off, that wasn’t a good start. This is the last time I’ll ask. What is your business here?”

 

“My business, if you could call it that, is to either be an offering for an alliance or a declaration of hostilities.”

 

“That doesn’t seem consistent with Eun Jiwon’s style.”

 

“It’s not,” the guy replied, shrugging.

 

“Then why are you here?”

 

“Eun Leader’s paternal aunt is the one that sent me.”

 

Eric was still for a long moment, one where Donghae wasn’t exactly sure what he’d do. Donghae heard the distinctive sound of a safety being flipped on before his gun lowered. “You won’t talk to him alone, but we won’t interfere,” he finally said, motioning Donghae forward.

 

Donghae felt his heart pounding in his chest, but he slowly walked forward, carefully looking over the newcomer. Only slightly taller than Donghae, dressed in a loose and baggy t-shirt that moved with the chilly fall wind, giving him a glimpse of toned shoulders and the teasing peek of a collarbone.

 

“What exactly do you mean by you being an offering?” Donghae asked.

 

“If you accept, then you can do whatever you want with me aside from killing me,” the guy replied, his voice monotone, as if he’d already accepted his fate.

 

“This doesn’t exactly sound like standard practice and is risky. Who’s to say that I won’t just keep you with me and turn on her using the information you provide?”

 

The guy didn’t reply, just shrugged his shoulders after a short pause.

 

Donghae felt his temper start to boil, and he tried to take a calming breath. “I can’t make a decision if you don’t tell me anything.”

 

Finally, Donghae saw some aspect of personality as the guy snorted and obviously rolled his eyes behind his mirrored sunglasses. “What decision? I’m dead either way. If you don’t kill me, that… _she_ will, and I’d rather die than be a doll for someone else to use.”

 

Donghae felt something heavy settle in his stomach at what the guy was implying and lost what little calm he’d gathered. “To begin with, I like my partners willing and not under coercion. I don’t even know if I want to accept an alliance with a clan that mistakes _people_ for fucking _barter strips_ , and I sure as fuck don’t want to keep someone around who doesn’t want to be around me,” he snapped. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath in, knowing that Eric would protect him for a few seconds.

 

“She wants full control of the clan again,” the guy quietly said. “Eun Jiwon has been taking over as he was supposed to, but she doesn’t want to let go, and she sees you as a means towards that goal.”

 

Donghae’s eyes flew open. “I don’t like being used.”

 

“That’s something we can both agree on. My loyalty is to Eun Jiwon, not her, and she knows it, which is why she’s doing this.” Donghae saw the plump lips twitch upwards. “I do have to admit that you’re much more attractive than I had expected, though.”

 

Donghae rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to hurt you; you don’t have to try to flatter me.”

 

“I’m not,” he replied with sincerity. “Though I’ll be perfectly willing to flatter you enough to help me turn the tables.”

 

Donghae snorted. “Spare me. What’s your name and how old are you?”

 

The guy pushed his sunglasses up into his hair, and Donghae was shocked to feel the immediate punch of attraction low in his stomach. “Lee Hyukjae,” the guy introduced. “I’m twenty-four. How old are you, Lee Donghae?”

 

Donghae reached his hand out. “We’re the same age.” He looked over at some movement closer to the plane as Hyukjae shook his hand. “Are they supposed to wait for you?” he asked quietly.

 

“Only long enough to hear your answer,” Hyukjae replied. “They’re loyal to her, and I don’t think Eun Leader knows that they took the plane.”

 

“Hyung…”

 

“We’ve been listening,” Minwoo immediately answered. “Play for some time, please.”

 

Donghae darted his eyes around, checking where everything and everyone was. “Great, how do we do that? Start a fight?” he muttered.

 

“I’d rather not, that’s how I got into this damn mess in the first place,” Hyukjae returned. “We need to get them away from the plane to make sure they don’t just take off, though.”

 

Donghae reached out, wrapping his hand around Hyukjae’s arm. “You’re lucky I was taking classes in theater,” he muttered as he stepped forward. “Yah! You!” he yelled, raising his voice loud enough to be heard across the distance. “Get your fucking ass over here,” he ordered, knowing that if Hyukjae knew who he was, then the others would too. Donghae walked a few steps forward, dragging Hyukjae by the arm. “What the ever living _fuck_ is the meaning of this shit? I’m not even back in Seoul and you people are already pushing your bullshit around? What kind of a useless bag of dicks sends a _person_ as a _gift_? I’m asking you a fucking question shitbrain!”

 

He saw another person pop their head out of the plane even as one of the two outside started reaching for a gun, and he didn’t flinch at the three quick shots that had two bodies landing heavily on the ground while the third body was slowly sliding down to the ground over the steps.

 

“Nice shot hyung,” Donghae commented into the silence.

 

“I’m just glad he managed to miss the plane – ah! Hyung! I’m just kidding!”

 

Donghae didn’t even need to turn around to know that Hyesung had Andy in a headlock, but he raised an eyebrow curiously at Eric, who had paused beside Donghae.

 

“We have some business in Seoul that we’ve been putting off, and now is as good a time as any,” Eric said, shrugging a shoulder. “Andy, as soon as Hyesung lets you go, check over the plane. The rest of you, go clear our place out. We’re not coming back.” Eric almost took a step forward before he stopped again. “A useless bag of _dicks_?”

 

Donghae smiled. “I got that one from Dongwan hyung.”

 

“…He would,” Eric finally said. “Flirt later, move bodies now.”

 

“Yes hyung,” Donghae dutifully replied, and he tugged at Hyukjae’s arm. “You heard him, we’re on body duty.”

 

“Just enough to take off, right?” Hyukjae asked.

 

“We obviously don’t have shovels and I’m not hand digging a grave,” Donghae replied as he walked towards the body that still hadn’t made it to the ground, leaving Hyukjae behind.

 

“Fair enough. What makes you think you can trust me enough to turn your back on me?”

 

Donghae looked back. “If you wanted to or were ordered to kill me, you would have made it happen within thirty seconds of landing. I’m not that stupid or naïve, Lee Hyukjae. Now hurry up and make yourself useful,” he ordered as he grabbed the back of a shirt to fling the dead weight onto the ground.

 

It didn’t take either he or Hyukjae longer than fifteen minutes to move the bodies far enough away to let the plane take off. Grabbing some water from the plane, Donghae splashed it on the stairs, cleaning the blood and brain matter off the metal while Hyukjae meticulously wiped at the few blood drops that had sprayed onto the carpeted floor.

 

Once he was done with his assigned chore, Donghae dropped himself onto the sofa that had been installed inside the plane and fidgeted with the hem of his shirt as he thought with his eyes closed.

 

“There you go trusting people again,” Hyukjae said as he sat down on the sofa as well.

 

Donghae only blinked his eyes open at the intrusion of words into his thoughts. “There you go repeating yourself again,” he shot back. “I don’t enjoy having to tell someone the same thing multiple times.”

 

Hyukjae’s lips turned up. “So you expect to have everyone paying attention and hanging onto every word you speak?”

 

“I’m the boss, aren’t I?”

 

“You’re way too cute to be a boss,” Hyukjae muttered quietly, and Donghae couldn’t miss the quick body scan of Hyukjae’s eyes.

 

“I told you that you didn’t need to flatter me.”

 

“Who said I was?” Hyukjae returned.

 

Donghae snorted. “Yeah right, a guy who is also into guys and doesn’t entirely want to kill me? Did I win a lottery or something?”

 

“You for sure won a genetic lottery,” Hyukjae replied, and Donghae was surprised to hear the bitterness.

 

“As if you didn’t?”

 

“You don’t have to flatter me either. I own a mirror.”

 

“Who said I was?” Donghae repeated Hyukjae’s words with the exact same tone of voice Hyukjae had used.

 

Hyukjae acknowledge the hit with a brief nod of his head, and they lapsed into silence, listening to Eric and Andy checking the condition of the plane.

 

“I am,” Hyukjae suddenly said.

 

“Huh?” Donghae replied, confused.

 

“I like guys too, just so you know.”

 

Andy appeared before Donghae could formulate a reply, and Donghae offered him a smile. “Is the plane okay hyung?”

 

Andy nodded. “Yeah, no damage to speak of and nothing that I could recognize as potentially destructive. We’ll head out as soon as everyone’s here so we can fly with the sun.”

 

Donghae blinked. “Don’t we need a pilot?”

 

“That would be me,” Andy replied with a smile as he perched on the arm of the sofa. “How do you think we got here? Swam?”

 

Donghae laughed at the mental image of Eric’s crew swimming from Korea to Mexico with Hyesung complaining the entire way about his guns getting wet.

 

“Okay I’m being serious here, you are way too cute to be a boss. How the hell did you get picked for it?” Hyukjae asked.

 

Donghae shrugged. “Some drunk idiot almost killed me while I was on my way to class about three years ago. The resulting traffic jam let security discover an ambush. Six months ago, I was _offered_ the chance to be the boss.”

 

Hyukjae blinked slowly, then shifted his eyes to Andy, who only nodded. “Wow, I knew he was losing it, but I didn’t think it was that much,” Hyukjae muttered.

 

“What do you mean?” Donghae replied, feeling a little offended.

 

“You haven’t been in clan business, because if you had, I would know far more about you than just your name and the implication of your sexual preference, which I only found out on the way here. That means that you had no clue and no grooming to be a boss before six months ago, you were just randomly picked,” Hyukjae rattled off, genuine surprise all over his face. “Maybe I _should_ stay with you to make sure no one tries anything. Six months isn’t nearly enough time to learn everything about running a clan.”

 

Donghae was just about to protest that he didn’t need someone staying with him out of pity when Eric suddenly spoke up from the door.

 

“Assuming Eun Jiwon really didn’t know what was happening with one of his hitters, it could be advantageous to have an alliance with the Yellow Crystals, Donghae.”

 

Donghae sighed, knowing that Eric had a point. “Yeah, if we did form an alliance, we’d control almost everything south of the river.”

 

“Add in the central area too,” Hyukjae said.

 

“That’s White Light territory,” Eric rebutted. “You two don’t have much to do with each other.”

 

Hyukjae smiled, his lips parting in a gummy smile. “It’s really weird, but there’s more than just a truce. It’s not a full alliance, but we’re friendly with them.”

 

“Now that’s a surprise.”

 

“Not so much. Eun Leader is the same age as Moon Heejun, who took over about three months ago with his wife, and they’re friendly enough to meet at a sauna. Also, most of our lieutenants are good friends with most of Moon Leader’s lieutenants.”

 

Eric snorted. “I think I learned more about clan gossip in five minutes than I’ve known for five years. Who has the section in between?”

 

Donghae was confused for a moment with the odd question, but quickly worked out that Eric was asking about the section between Donghae’s area and Eun Jiwon’s.

 

Hyukjae’s smile grew wider. “Someone who you still have business with.”

 

Eric’s smile was wolfish and sharp. “Maybe you _should_ stay with Donghae while we’re… occupied.”

 

“That option keeps sounding more attractive the more anyone mentions it,” Hyukjae replied slyly as he looked at Donghae.

 

Donghae sighed irritably. “I don’t need a babysitter,” he groused.

 

Hyukjae snorted. “Don’t flatter yourself too much, it’s also a means of self-preservation for me. Everything else is a bonus.”

 

Donghae folded his arms and sulked. He shouldn’t have been surprised at the borderline harsh words, knowing that most everyone in the clans were only concerned about themselves. He supposed that he was far too used to staying with Eric and he would have to adjust at some point. Hyukjae, for his part, didn’t seem to notice or care about the effects of his words, which made Donghae all the more surprised when Hyukjae leaned a little closer to him.

 

“Sorry. I should have remembered that you were just randomly picked and aren’t used to things yet instead of just saying the first thing I thought of,” Hyukjae whispered.

 

Donghae nodded, accepting the apology.

 

After a few minutes, Hyukjae leaned close again. “Nervous about going back?” he asked quietly, his voice almost drowned out by Eric and Andy bickering in the cockpit.

 

“Yeah,” he admitted. “Like you said, six months isn’t nearly enough time to learn how to run a clan. Hell, I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to run a clan, my personality doesn’t exactly suit the job.”

 

“Why did you accept?” Hyukjae asked, tilting his head curiously.

 

“I didn’t feel like dying that day.” Donghae shrugged. “My mother would also be extremely upset if I just disappeared. She’s mad because I accepted, but she can get over that. She only has me and my brother left. I think me disappearing would completely break her, I’ve already almost died once and I don’t want to upset her like that again.”

 

“That’s dangerous to still have family alive,” Hyukjae muttered, his lips turning down. “Shit, this is a giant mess.”

 

“I’ve got no idea how to start cleaning it up, either. Eric hyung has been showing me the basics, but…” Donghae trailed off, shrugging.

 

“Do you want me to stay with you?” Hyukjae asked.

 

“I don’t need pity,” Donghae immediately replied, his mood souring.

 

“It’s not.” Hyukjae waited until Donghae looked at him before speaking again. “Look, I know some of the stuff about how to run it, I’ve been part of the clans since I was practically born. You need help, and I’m offering not only my knowledge but to watch your back while you figure this shit out.”

 

Donghae smiled a little. “Who says I can trust you?”

 

Hyukjae grinned back at him. “I haven’t killed you, have I?”

 

Donghae snorted a laugh. “You’d have my mother after you if you did.”

 

“Exactly my point.” He stretched out his legs, slouching. “I wouldn’t be averse to being around you for other reasons, too.”

 

“We might have to work on those other reasons as soon as things stabilize,” Donghae replied.

 

“That’s good enough for me.”

 

Hyukjae childishly held out his pinky and Donghae wrapped his own around the offered digit to seal the promise.


End file.
